As structures become increasingly smaller, ways of connecting a single wire or multiple wires of a cable to a connector, in particular to a PCB, have become a central issue. With increasingly higher data rates, there are increasing limitations to what is achievable with high process reliability in a standard soldering process in manual production. Moreover, with these higher data rates, it is of increased importance that, from an electrical point of view, the spacing of the conductive traces in relation to the single wire is small and as symmetric as possible and.
In this context, different variants of connectors are known. Some of these connectors are suitable for connection on PCBs; i.e., circuit boards. These are generally angled 90°, so that the connecting cable can be routed parallel to the circuit board. In this connection, reference is made to DE 20 2014 008 843 U1, which shows a circuit board and a corresponding connector. This connector is soldered to the circuit board and is suitable for connection to a connecting cable.
US 2013/0231011 A1 also describes an interconnection via which the inner conductors of a plurality of cables are soldered to different circuit boards. In that approach, the cables are arranged side by side and on top of one another and do not have an outer conductor. Inner conductors which are disposed side by side are soldered to corresponding contact pads on a first side of a circuit board, whereas inner conductors of cables located thereabove or therebelow are soldered to a second, opposite side of this circuit board. In total, there are two circuit boards, both sides of each of these circuit boards being soldered to corresponding cables, and the two circuit boards being separated from each other by a fastening element.
The inventors have recognized that problems of US 2013/0231011 A1 are that the process of soldering the inner conductors of the cables to the corresponding top and bottom sides of the respective circuit boards and the process of making the interconnection are difficult to automate, and that the individual inner conductors are disposed without shielding.